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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29113824">Flattery Will Get You Everywhere</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/She5los/pseuds/She5los'>She5los</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/M, Married Sex, Praise Kink, Safewords, Vaginal Sex</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 13:01:20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,611</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29113824</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/She5los/pseuds/She5los</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bernadetta's birthday celebration includes a very nice day with her husband, and an evening where he pays her an overwhelming number of compliments.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Ferdinand von Aegir/Bernadetta von Varley</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>21</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Flattery Will Get You Everywhere</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is in the same universe as "Say My Name and His in the Same Breath," but it's easy to read as a standalone.  The only differences I made in that AU are that Ferdinand and Bernadetta are married at seventeen and Bernadetta didn't attend the Officers' Academy.</p><p>I started this all the way back around Fernadetta Week, but I forgot about it for a while!  I hope you enjoy it! :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Bernadetta's birthday was becoming Ferdinand's favorite holiday.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The wartime government, headed by now-Emperor Edelgard, had certainly not forbidden religious holidays, but among the high-ranking officers and officials, they were considered somewhat gauche.  Ferdinand would bet anything that most of them were holding small private celebrations with close friends or family, but the end of Ethereal Moon just didn't have the same festive feeling it used to.  His beloved wife's birthday, though?  That was not only worthy of celebration; it was in the middle of Winter, when Faerghus was all but inaccessible and even Liecester would have posed problems.  Winter was a good time to pull back, and by unspoken agreement, all three nations did little more than hold their lines when the weather turned cold.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>As a result, for the second year in a row, Ferdinand was spending the coldest months of the year in Enbarr, which was certainly less unappealing than even Aegir Duchy.  With no St. Cichol Day to celebrate, he was able to focus on Bernie's birthday.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His plan was very simple, because Bernadetta got overwhelmed sometimes when there were too many things to do: sleep in; go for a nice ride through the park, or even outside the city if she wanted; cut into the cake at lunch; spend a quiet afternoon in, the way Bernie liked to call "being alone together;" and, in the evening, they had a reservation at her favorite restaurant, with a view overlooking the water.  When they came home, there would be more cake for dessert, and he had some ideas for making her feel really appreciated after they retired to bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everything went to plan: the ride was beautiful and familiar; lunch was charming and Bernadetta loved the illustrated field guide of Dagdan plants Ferdinand got her; the afternoon was relaxing; and at dinner, Ferdinand felt so in love with Bernadetta he could have forgotten there was a war at all.  As they watched the early sunset and commented on the water birds and the boats passing by, Bernie seemed so good and sweet and </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span> that the entire rest of the world could have fallen away and Ferdie would barely have noticed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thanks to Ferdinand's foresight in not over-planning the day, they returned home without Bernie getting anxious or frazzled from being in public too long.  Both stuffed from exceedingly delicious food, they decided to skip dessert and go straight to the bedroom.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Thank you for a wonderful birthday," Bernie said as she untied her shoes.  "I can't think of any way I'd rather have spent it."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It was my pleasure," Ferdinand assured her.  "For my part, I cannot think of anyone I would rather be married to.  I am very glad I was able to make you feel celebrated."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"It was just the right amount of celebrating," she confirmed.  "And I'm glad you got the day off."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If you really want to know, I needed the break, too," Ferdie said.  He believed in Edelgard's cause completely, but he was only human, and Winter certainly was not his season.  "I feel very refreshed, and we have not even decided what to do with our evening."  With his shoes and coat off, Ferdinand went to hover by the bathroom door.  "I feel it would probably be wise for me to brush my teeth, though, regardless of the specifics we decide on."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bernie laughed.  "You're too practical," she scolded.  She was grinning.  "Then I'll want to be that considerate, too."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferdie laughed as he slipped into the bathroom.  Bernadetta joined him in moments.  It was a bit silly, doing something so mundane and unattractive as a prelude to lovemaking, but you couldn't argue with the results.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Also, perhaps Ferdinand was a touch more sentimental than the average person, but he loved the reminder that they </span>
  <em>
    <span>lived</span>
  </em>
  <span> together, that they shared a house and a bedroom and a life, and that included everything from the mundane to the wonderful.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was, perhaps, a reason why Ferdinand's friends sometimes rolled their eyes when he talked about his love for Bernadetta.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mouth tasting fresh and herbal, Ferdinand went back to the bedroom, touching Bernadetta gently on the shoulder as he passed her.  He went to the vanity, which proudly displayed scents Ferdinand wore when he was in town and the strong lotions and balms you needed in winter (particularly if you had delicate skin like Bernadetta's that cracked and even bled in cold weather) and grabbed a particularly slick lotion to put by the bed.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bernie followed him quickly.  She grabbed her night cream and gloves and took them to the nightstand on her side of the bed.  Then she hopped up, lying prone and so, so beautiful.  "What would you like to do?" she asked.  "Your ideas have all been good so far today; do you have anything planned?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I thought I would leave that to the birthday girl," Ferdinand teased.  "If you keep looking so enticing, though, I may get one or two ideas…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bernie giggled.  "I'm not even undressed yet," she reminded him.  "Flatterer."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Who better to flatter than my own wife?"  When had he started smiling?  He mounted the bed, kneeling over her.  "I am absolutely certain I sound like I am seventeen again when I say this, but every time I see you looking happy, I am surprised by your beauty all over again.  You are always more beautiful than I remembered."  It was uncomfortably honest to say, but he felt compelled; he couldn't </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span> say it once he'd started.  He lay down next to her and stroked her arm.  "You are so soft and gentle and delicate.  I spend most of my year around people who cannot afford to be any of those things.  Then I come home, and here you are."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bernie made a noise, something like a whine and something like a groan, and pulled away from him.  When he looked up, she was covering her face with her hands, still groaning, rocking a little back and forth.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Bernadetta?" Ferdinand asked.  It wouldn't do to overwhelm her on her birthday, of all days.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Don't.  Or.  Keep going.  Or.  I don't knowww," she whined.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferdinand smiled.  Maybe his amazing wife would allow him to give her all his compliments, until he had given her even a tiny glimpse into his own perspective, his admiration and love for her.  "A gentleman does not kiss and tell, of course," he reminded her, to ensure she knew how little he'd taken part in the conversations he was about to relate, "But, as you know, not all of my riders </span>
  <em>
    <span>are</span>
  </em>
  <span> gentlemen."  He touched her arm, stroked it gently.  "A few months ago, I overheard a conversation between two of my riders about… The way they play with power with their sweethearts.  They told any of us who wanted to hear that, because a person might sometimes </span>
  <em>
    <span>want</span>
  </em>
  <span> their 'no' or 'stop' to be ignored, they set a different word that meant 'I really mean it this time.'"  He kissed her shoulder very gently.  "Would you like to set a word like that, so I can compliment all of your many good features and you can object as much as you like without my having to stop out of worry that I upset you?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her hand tangled in his hair.  It was too long and shaggy, falling well past his shoulders, but he didn't want to spend his precious little time at home on getting a haircut.  "It might…  I might like that," she admitted. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Why, then, by all means, let us get comfortable," Ferdinand suggested.  He sat up and started working on the row of buttons down Bernadetta's front.  "What is a good, memorable word, my love?  Something easy to say, so you do not get too tongue-tied?"  There, that little row of buttons was done.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her eyes cast around the room, and at last she said, "Curtain.  Curtain is a good word."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Very theatrical," Ferdie teased.  "An excellent choice."  He took her hand and kissed it.  "I should expect no less from my clever authoress."  He turned her hand around to kiss her wrist.  "Word gets around, you know."  The inside of her forearm.  "How persuasive your letters are.  How well they rally our allies to send supplies.  Even with precious little time for artistic pursuits, you have still found a way to write a better, more compassionate world into existence."  A line of soft kisses trailing all the way up to her shoulder.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Anyone could do it," Bernie said, which was patently wrong.  "I can't fight with your troops, but I have to protect you somehow."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was sweet beyond words, so instead of trying to contradict her, Ferdinand pulled her on top of him for a kiss, the kind that started gentle and chaste, but became enthusiastic and sloppy as it continued.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>At last, Bernadetta sat up and started undoing the buttons on Ferdinand's vest.  "You look so tempting like this," Ferdinand told her.  "Your dress askew, your hair rumpled.  Of course, all perfectly dressed and arranged, you are elegance, itself, but there is a very special excitement in knowing I am the only man who gets to see you like this."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Her hands fisted up, creasing his vest.  Her arms drew in toward her sides.  "Tha-that's not--  I-I-I mean, I don't--"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferdie sat up, which put him very close to her.  He put a hand in her hair and kissed her cheek.  "And do not even get me started on how beautiful you are with your clothes off," he said into her ear, "or I fear we will be up the whole night."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You can't just-- I'm nooooot!" Bernie whined.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Not beautiful?" Ferdinand asked.  He slid his hands into her dress to help her remove it.  "Then I will have to find a more appropriate word!  Let us see…  Cute, certainly."  He dipped his head down to kiss the rounded top of one of her breasts.  "Enticing, enchanting."  She was making a whining noise in the back of her throat, but she was also pulling her dress off, shifting on his lap so she'd stop sitting on her skirt.  "And, of course, so delicate, so small compared to me.  My dainty little wife."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He only heard more whining noises as he skimmed his hands down her back.  His friends had been very clear that, if a person could not speak, they could not use their word even if they wanted to.  So he asked, "Should I continue, my love?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You…  I mean, you don't need to push yourself," Bernie told him, which was certainly not 'curtains.'  "Um.  But we could definitely have less clothes for this."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferdinand grinned.  "I really need to get into better habits," he told her as she shifted off of his lap.  "I was simply unable to contain my excitement, so I wanted to start as soon as possible, but undressing really does become so much more difficult after you have already started."  With his vest off and his shirt unbuttoned, he stood to remove his breeches.  "But I wonder if anyone in my position would have been able to spend even one second away with such a sweet little sundew waiting in their bed."  That was one of her carnivorous plants, right?  The ones with little beads of "nectar" that were really a sticky trap.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I'll-- s-show you what a good sundew I can be," Bernie told him.  "I'll wrap all around you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Good, he'd gotten it right.  He was so close to being undressed, and Bernie was, too, and he couldn't wait to join her in bed again.  "I will look forward to it, my dove.  Your warm arms and legs all over my body.  Nobody could ever make me feel loved like you do."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She said something soft, like "oh," as she realized he had even found a way to turn even that into more compliments.  He guided her toward the bed again, now that they both had all their clothes off.  "Goodness, and the way you look--!  You are the very picture of modesty, my love.  Blushing like you used to in Garreg Mach, in that little apartment we shared."  He kissed her forehead, then ducked down to kiss her lips.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a moment, she broke it off.  "This is too much," she told him.  She did not say her word or give any indication that she had forgotten it.  "I was a mess when you were at school.  I could barely go outside."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You did when it mattered," Ferdie reminded her.  His hand pressed across her bare chest and shoulder, gently suggesting that she lie down, and she complied readily.  "You were such an enormous help to me, Bernadetta.  I could never have made it through that year without you."  He trailed the backs of his fingers down, between her breasts, over her stomach…  "Though I have to say: as stunning as you were then, you are even more beautiful now."  He lay next to her, propped on one elbow, just looking over her body.  He touched her face and body gently, and she let him.  "You have put on weight since we married, and it looks so healthy on you, Bernadetta," he told her.  "Your face is so soft and sweet, and Goddess, if your breasts had been that large when we married, I might have passed out the first time I saw them."  He pinched her nipple, not very hard, and she squeaked, then giggled.  "The astoundingly enticing body of a grown woman, a wife instead of a bride."  He leaned over and kissed her again.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Well, I didn't do anything special," she protested when he pulled away.  "And look at you, how strong you're getting… The way your shoulders have filled out…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"There is no need to deflect, my beloved," he told her.  He kissed her nose, then reached down to run his hand over her stomach and hip, trying to say through his actions: </span>
  <em>
    <span>I want you.  I love you.  I love who you were and who you will become.  </span>
  </em>
  <span>"I only wanted to be certain you knew how attractive you are becoming as you grow into yourself."  He pulled her hip toward him, tilting her body toward his just a bit.  "How amazed I am to watch you grow up, as I am also growing up."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Get on top of me," she whined, so Ferdinand grinned and clambered on top of her, laughed as they got their legs sorted out and made good use of the lotion he’d set on the nightstand as he stroked himself to make the act possible.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Finally, he was above her with her legs wrapped around his back.  "Was this your plan, my glistening sundew?" he asked, and slid his fingers into her hair, against her scalp.  At her nod, he asked, "And this is comfortable for you?"  Another nod.  He leaned forward, careful not to move too quickly before he was properly positioned, feeling carefully for her entrance.  "My eager, affectionate Bernadetta," he said.  She protested again, so he added, "You are so expressive, my darling!  It really does wonders for my ego."  He eased his head down to kiss her neck.  "I love it so much.  It makes me happier than you could know to see how happy I can make you, how excited, how aroused…"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Stoppppp," Bernie whined.  Her eyes were shut tight and her face turned away, but her legs and hips moved with him.  "Anyway, it's because </span>
  <em>
    <span>you're</span>
  </em>
  <span> so good to </span>
  <em>
    <span>me…"</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferdie laughed.  What a sweet thing to say!  "Maybe so!  But I do love you very, very much, so what could I possibly do except treat you with all the care and affection you deserve?"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Bernie made a miserable sort of groaning sound.  Ferdinand kissed her neck, her jaw, her cheek.  Nuzzled his face against hers, and then kissed her some more.  "My sweetest sundew," he said, and kissed her again.  How could he not, when he loved her so much?  She was irresistible.  "It really is a good metaphor; with you all wrapped around me like this, I feel like I really could die happy."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Ferdie, that's too much," she whined.  "There's a war on; don't say that.  Oh, right there, right there--!"</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He grunted a confirmation and tried to mimic what he'd been doing.  "Apologies, my love; I was only thinking about how the sundews eat their captives.  I think you will find me a very willing captive, though; I could not stay away if I tried, with a wife who is so beautiful, so caring, so-- nnh-- oh, you are so distracting, I will almost certainly repeat myself soon."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"I w-wouldn't mind hearing some of those things again," Bernie told him, which was reassuring because she </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> very distracting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"The most beautiful woman in the world," Ferdinand keened, not worrying at all whether he'd said it before.  "My daintiest, my sweetest, and most importantly, mine!"  He kissed her neck and the top of her shoulder.  "I am so happy you are letting me pamper you my love; you deserve every kindness I can give you."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He came like that, with more mundane and repetitive compliments on his lips the closer he got to release, but Goddess, it felt so good to say them.  Felt good to tell her how much she meant to him, when she often wouldn't allow it.  He was full to bursting with love for her, and no matter how victorious or satisfied he felt after a battle, there was always a part of him that ached for her when he was away.  He just wanted to be sure that she knew.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"Oh -- Yes -- Oh, keep going," Bernie keened as Ferdinand slowed, bucking her hips in an effort to keep him with her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That wasn't possible, but Ferdinand put two fingers inside her and his palm over her mound, where it slid smoothly over plump flesh and coarse purple hair.  "Listen to the sweet, pretty noises you make for me, my love," he told her as she pushed against his palm.  What was the point of all his training, all the bulk of his arms and shoulders and the calluses on his hands, if not to pull this sweet music from Bernadetta's lips?  "I could swear, in the seven years when I never missed a single Manuela Casagranda performance, I never heard such a beautiful sound as the love of my life enjoying herself so thoroughly."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shuddered and he felt it around his fingers, gentled by his seed inside of her and her own body's proof of arousal.  He murmured soft praises, nothing out of the ordinary for him, but Bernie whined and asked him to stop as if they were his most creative offerings so far.  He listened to her body instead of her voice as her movements became frantic, even desperate.  When she was close, he gave up all pretense that he could compliment her while feeling so enraptured by her pleasure, so he put his free hand behind her head and kissed her, letting his head fall to the side when she broke the kiss off with a loud, mewling moan.  While her pretty mouth opened, she closed herself below like a Morfis fingertrap, pulsing around Ferdinand's fingers nearly hard enough to bruise.  "I feel the greatest satisfaction," he confessed immediately, his mouth quick because he wanted to be done so he could kiss her again, even though he wanted to praise her to Heaven and back, "that I am the one who helped to do that to you.  I do not know that you will ever be able to see how beautiful you are when your sweet mouth opens up to--mmph!"  She had taken his head in both hands and kissed him soundly.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She held him tighter, closer, keeping herself connected to him.  His daring, affectionate Bernadetta.  He relaxed against her, holding her tight as her leg wrapped around him, too.  He lost time, kissing her; he could not say if they stayed locked together for seconds or weeks.  When they finally pulled away from each other, he trailed kisses up her jaw and down her neck.  "And the way you kiss me," he said, almost moaned, still dazed with affection.  "The </span>
  <em>
    <span>warmest</span>
  </em>
  <span> feeling.  I hardly know up from down after your sweet kisses."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"You can stop," Bernie said, like it was a chore instead of a delight to praise her so.  "We're-- both done, now.  I think."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>"If you would like," Ferdie offered.  He still stroked her hair gently.  "Only say 'curtains,' and I will stop in an instant.  But, if you would like to continue, I doubt if I will ever run out of compliments.  I simply admire you too much.  I feel that I should be the one thanking you, since I know it can be difficult for you to accept kind words no matter how much you deserve them.  And I promise that you always deserve them."  He kissed her nose, just a quick little peck.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She kissed him on the nose in return and said, "Curtain.  But that was very fun and I think we should do it again."  She smiled cheerfully and tucked herself against Ferdie's chest.  Then she yawned and added, "For now, I think I'd like to sleep with the sweetest husband in the world."</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ferdinand reached down to pull the covers over both of them.  He smoothed a hand over her hair a few times, then down her back before settling it around her shoulders.  "I could sleep very easily," he agreed.  "Happy birthday, my love, and sweet dreams."</span>
</p>
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